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After 40+ voters, Orlando still has ZERO votes (it just got its first vote after I posted this), and this does include WDW and all other theme parks according to the OP's criteria. This is very surprising since its a top five city/metro for overall visitors.
I didn't pick Orlando because although I know WDW is much bigger than Disneyland, I grew up a stone's throw from Disneyland and have been there a bajillion times, and at this point in life am just not interested in much of anything involving Disney.
Since DC came up, my 8th grade class spent the entire year preparing for a week in Washington, D.C. (with side trips to Gettysburg, Williamsburg, Jamestown, Philadelphia). Sure, it was a long time ago, but I remember it all very clearly and would rather go some place I haven't been.
Nothing in the northeast because I am from there, been to those cities many times, and nothing particularly interesting for me being from the northeast.
1. San Diego. Been there many times and would happily go back until I am no longer on this earth. Love it.
2. San Francisco. See San Diego.
3. Salt Lake City. Never been there, and would love to see it. Would love to hike around the Wastasch and surrounding areas.
4. Honolulu. Only been there once, would love to go back and see the other 3 islands again while there.
5. Key West. Always would love to escape there in the winter. Basically the Caribbean. Love it there.
Too bad I had to limit myself to five cities, because there are quite a few cities on this list that I would be perfectly happy to spend a week in. I eliminated some (such as New York and Seattle) because of current social issues, and I eliminated others (such as Washington and Philadelphia) because I've lived in them or have already visited them extensively. I chose the following:
Asheville -- I actually don't have a huge interest in this one, so I'd probably only do a day there. But I love the Great Smoky Mountains and the surrounding area, so that's where I'd be spending my time.
Charleston (I assume they mean the one in South Carolina) -- I've visited several times, most recently just a week ago, but I never seem to have enough time to see and do everything that I'd like to. Maybe a good solid week would be enough to get a real taste of the place.
Honolulu -- I've been there five times already, but I never get tired of it. Not just Honolulu, but all of Hawaii.
San Diego -- Another place that I've been to before but really enjoy and would like to explore more in depth. Previously, I would have ranked San Francisco higher on my visit list, but from what I've been hearing of the social problems they've been having, I think I'll skip it for now.
Tampa -- I was there a few months ago, for a very short visit, for the first time in years. I was really impressed with how the city has grown and how livable the downtown area appeared. I'd love to have a week to not only explore it some more, but also check out St. Petersburg and Sarasota as well. If I'm traveling with my kids, swap out Orlando for this one, because I'm sure they'd like to return to Disney World.
Flagstaff is a great city for a tourist. Not too far from Williams, Sedona, Jerome and the Grand Canyon. 3 year ago I spent 3 months in that area. Did a lot of Route 66 sites. There are a bunch of National Monuments on the outskirts of Flagstaff. 1 day I drove all the way up to the Navajo Bridge area. I even caught a few trout from the Colorado river on a day when the temps were in the triple digits. I wet waded when I fished. The water is quite cold. I risked sun and hypothermia at the same time.
I mean it has fewer votes than Salt Lake City and Asheville, so something about DC's appeal is being lost on people. Maybe most of us have just already been there? It's probably within a day or two's drive of the majority of the US population, and I know it's a pretty common destination for school trips (I think my middle school's orchestra did trips there at the end of the year).
Yeah. I didn't pick DC because I've already been there multiple times.
If I had never been there, I probably would have picked it.
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